Monday, May 21, 2018

Indelible Villains

What book published before 1900 left an indelible impression
on you? What book published after 2000?

by Terry Shames

I could name Jane Austen or William Makepeace Thackery or
anyone of that novelistic ilk. They all made lasting impressions; especially
since I’ve read Austen’s books again and again. But the one I’m going to choose
here is a book that isn’t really a book, but a long poem: Paradise Lost. It should be of special interest to crime writers,
because it illustrates one of the most important rules of that genre—you have
to have an interesting villain.

When I was in graduate school at San Francisco State in the
80’s, for reasons now obscure to me, I wanted to take a course in John Milton.
There was no such course. I went to the chairman of the Creative Writing Department,
Stan Rice, and asked if the department might consider offering one. He told me there was
little general interest in Milton, but that there was a little known provision
at SF State, that if I could find a professor on the faculty who was competent
to teach such a course, and if he or she were willing, the university would pay
the faculty member as it would for any other three-hour class.

Dr. Rice told me that I was in luck—that there was a faculty
member who was a Milton scholar. I asked the faculty member if he’d be willing
to teach me, a class of one, for three hours a week for a semester. He was
thrilled that someone was interested in Milton. He reminded me that as the only
student, I would be “on” for the entire class, three hours a week.

It was one of the most wonderful education experiences of my
life. I studied hard, determined never to let him down, and in the process I
became a Milton devotee. To this day I recall the thrill of finding out for
myself, as so many readers of Milton had before me, that the villain, Satan, in
Paradise Lost was more interesting
than the hero. His observation of life was incisive, his arguments sharper, his
fury and despair palpable, and his belief in himself absolute.

“To reign is worth ambition though in hell: Better to reign
in hell than serve in heav’n.”

“Moloch, scepter’d king/ Stood up, the strongest and the fiercest
spirit/ That fought in heav’n; now fiercer by despair.”

Move forward four centuries, and enter, Hannibal Lecter—the ultimate
modern villain: witty, sharp, and utterly convinced of his own worth. The Silence
of the Lambs, the most compelling of the books about Lecter was published
before 2000, but the final one was published in 2006, so I’m cheating. As a
villain Lecter left an indelible impression. There are other books that come to
mind, but no more archetypal villain exists.

“Nothing happened to me, Officer Starling. I
happened. You can't reduce me to a set of influences.”

“Evil's just destructive? Then storms are evil,
if it's that simple. And we have fire, and there there's hail. Underwriters
lump it all under 'Acts of God.”

“Most people love butterflies and hate moths,"
he said. "But moths are more interesting - more engaging." "They're destructive.""Some are, a lot are, but they live in all
kinds of ways. Just like we do.”

If a crime novel is to be compelling, the protagonist has to
have an antagonist who matches his wits. The villain has to have cunning and
intelligence, maybe even a dark soul. He has to be absolutely certain of the
validity of his actions, and be convinced that it’s better to reign in the world
of evil than serve in the world of good. Does that make such villains crazy? No
crazier than the Satan portrayed in Paradise
Lost. He has his own agenda, and he lives by it—like every villain.

Q&A with Criminal Minds!

Question of the Week

Each week the crime fiction authors of Criminal Minds respond to a question about writing, reading, murder and mayhem.Question of the Week:How do you choose your titles? Put a bunch of words in a hat and pull them out at random? Use a title generator? Does your publisher do it? Do you find it easy or hard? Do you start with a working title, or just start writing? Has the title ever stayed the same? Is there a title you wish you could steal?

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Mondays with Susan

Susan C. Shea debuts a new series, a French village mystery, Love & Death in Burgundy in spring 2017 (St. Martin's Minotaur). The third in her Dani O'Rourke series came out in Feb. 2016. She lives in Marin County, CA.

Mondays with Brenda

With numerous award nominations for her books, Brenda Chapman pens the Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural series; the Anna Sweet novellas for adult literacy; and the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for young adults. Booklist recommends the Stonechild series "highly to crime-fiction fans looking for a new author". Brenda lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Tuesdays with Terry

Terry Shames writes the Macavity Award-winning Samuel Craddock series, set in small-town Texas. In 2015 BookPeople dubbed her one of the top five Texas mystery authors.

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R.J. Harlick is the author of the acclaimed Meg Harris mystery series set in the wilds of Quebec. Her love for Canada’s untamed wilds is the inspiration for her series. The 4th book, Arctic Blue Death, was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel.

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Cathy Ace writes the globe-trotting Cait Morgan Mysteries, (Bony Blithe winner 2015 - Agatha’s Canadian cousin), and the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, set in her native Wales. She lives in rural British Columbia.

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Dietrich Kalteis is the award-winning author of Ride the Lightning, The Deadbeat Club, Triggerfish, House of Blazes and Zero Avenue. Nearly fifty of his short stories have been published, and he lives with his family on Canada’s west coast.

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Catriona McPherson is the Anthony, Agatha, Macavity, IndieFab and Lefty winning author of the DANDY GILVER series set in Scotland in the 1920s, as well as two darker stand-alones AS SHE LEFT IT and THE DAY SHE DIED. Catriona lives in northern California with a black cat and a scientist.

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James W. Ziskin (Jim to his friends) is the author of the Edgar-, Anthony-, Barry-, Lefty-, and Macavity-nominated Ellie Stone Mysteries. He's 6'2", weighs 200 pounds, and writes like a girl.

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Paul D. Marks pulled a gun on the LAPD...and lived to tell about. A former "script doctor," Paul's novel WHITE HEAT is a 2013 SHAMUS AWARD WINNER. Publishers Weekly calls WHITE HEAT a "taut crime yarn." Paul is also the author of over thirty published short stories in a variety of genres, including several award winners. GHOSTS OF BUNKER HILL, from the 12/16 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, was voted #1 in the 2016 Ellery Queen Readers Poll.

Fridays with Danny

Danny Gardner's work has appeared in Beat to a Pulp, Out of the Gutter, and Literary Orphans Journal. His first novel, A NEGRO AND AN OFAY, will be released May 2017 by Down And Out Books. His short fiction will be featured in JUST TO WATCH HIM DIE, a Johnny Cash inspired anthology, published by Gutter Books in Winter 2016.